Scotland to safeguard border with England over coronavirus fears
Following the effective end of the lockdown in England, the Scottish government is taking extra precautions to safeguard the border against coronavirus penetration.
According to Scotland’s justice secretary, Humza Yousaf, Scottish police will “enforce” lockdown restrictions around a “cross-border” cluster as a “last resort”.
Talking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Yousaf said Scottish police officers would take a “common sense, proportionate” response to policing lockdown restrictions in the border areas.
"So you're not going to see hundreds and hundreds of officers sent down to Annan and Gretna and so on and patrolling the streets to make sure nobody is going beyond the five-mile limit", the justice secretary said.
Yousaf’s intervention comes in the wake of Scots being warned not to be tempted to travel across the border as pubs, bars and restaurants in England reopened for the first time in three months.
For their part, Police Scotland have said they will not be enforcing the rules too strictly, instead relying on the common sense of the people living in border areas and in close proximity to English communities.
Chief Superintendent Linda Jones, divisional commander for Dumfries and Galloway, said: "We are asking people to take personal responsibility to do the right thing and remember the purpose of these measures is to aid the collective effort to stay safe, protect others and save lives by preventing the virus from spreading”.
"Our officers will continue to engage with the public, explain the legislation and guidance and encourage compliance … We will use enforcement as a last resort only where there is a clear breach of the legislation", Ch Supt Jones added.
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